tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Expert Rev Mol Diagn
. 2023 Sep 19;1-4.
doi: 10.1080/14737159.2023.2260308. Online ahead of print. Salivette® Cortisol versus oropharyngeal swabbing for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 infection
Petra Moroni-Zentgraf[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Christoph Keller[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Christoph C Eschenfelder[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Hanns Walter Müller[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Ralf Sigmund[SUP] 4 [/SUP], David Galeana-Cadena[SUP] 5 [/SUP], José Eduardo Márquez-García[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Angélica Moncada-Morales[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Joaquin A Zúñiga[SUP] 5 6 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Background: Detecting severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) by naso/oropharyngeal swabbing may expose health-care workers to the virus and is technically challenging. The Salivette® is an alternative saliva-collection device with an oral cotton swab containing citric acid to stimulate saliva production, which may have an unpleasant taste. We present a pilot study comparing the Salivette® Cortisol (SC), which uses a synthetic swab without citric acid, against oropharyngeal swabbing for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 by reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR).
Research design and methods: Symptomatic SARS-CoV-2-positive patients were sampled at various timepoints. The number of patients positive/negative for SARS-CoV-2 in oropharyngeal swab and SC samples and the percentage of patients testing true positive/true negative for SARS-CoV-2 from SC samples were determined. Positivity was defined by RT-qPCR amplification of 2/3 target SARS-CoV-2 N, ORF1, and S gene sequences.
Results: SC demonstrated 100% specificity, 52.2% sensitivity, and positive correlation with oropharyngeal swabbing for the detection of the SARS-CoV-2 S gene. In later-stage disease, lower viral load was observed in SC samples compared with oropharyngeal swabs.
Conclusions: The SC may be an alternative for SARS-CoV-2 detection where naso/oropharyngeal swabbing is not feasible/available. This technique also confirms observations that the detection of SARS-CoV-2 in the upper airway may vary due to viral load over the disease course.
Trial registration: NCT04599959.
Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; Salivette Cortisol; oropharyngeal swabbing; saliva sampling; viral load.
. 2023 Sep 19;1-4.
doi: 10.1080/14737159.2023.2260308. Online ahead of print. Salivette® Cortisol versus oropharyngeal swabbing for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 infection
Petra Moroni-Zentgraf[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Christoph Keller[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Christoph C Eschenfelder[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Hanns Walter Müller[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Ralf Sigmund[SUP] 4 [/SUP], David Galeana-Cadena[SUP] 5 [/SUP], José Eduardo Márquez-García[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Angélica Moncada-Morales[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Joaquin A Zúñiga[SUP] 5 6 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 37724431
- DOI: 10.1080/14737159.2023.2260308
Background: Detecting severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) by naso/oropharyngeal swabbing may expose health-care workers to the virus and is technically challenging. The Salivette® is an alternative saliva-collection device with an oral cotton swab containing citric acid to stimulate saliva production, which may have an unpleasant taste. We present a pilot study comparing the Salivette® Cortisol (SC), which uses a synthetic swab without citric acid, against oropharyngeal swabbing for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 by reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR).
Research design and methods: Symptomatic SARS-CoV-2-positive patients were sampled at various timepoints. The number of patients positive/negative for SARS-CoV-2 in oropharyngeal swab and SC samples and the percentage of patients testing true positive/true negative for SARS-CoV-2 from SC samples were determined. Positivity was defined by RT-qPCR amplification of 2/3 target SARS-CoV-2 N, ORF1, and S gene sequences.
Results: SC demonstrated 100% specificity, 52.2% sensitivity, and positive correlation with oropharyngeal swabbing for the detection of the SARS-CoV-2 S gene. In later-stage disease, lower viral load was observed in SC samples compared with oropharyngeal swabs.
Conclusions: The SC may be an alternative for SARS-CoV-2 detection where naso/oropharyngeal swabbing is not feasible/available. This technique also confirms observations that the detection of SARS-CoV-2 in the upper airway may vary due to viral load over the disease course.
Trial registration: NCT04599959.
Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; Salivette Cortisol; oropharyngeal swabbing; saliva sampling; viral load.